Sandwell Academy, XC170703, Catamaran

July 6, 2017

Monday 3 – Friday 7 July

Entry Four

We started the day in Yarmouth, with the sun shining through the hatches. After eating breakfast, and a good team effort to get the saloon and galley clean, we sat out on the deck and admired the wondering creature that was a dolphin in the harbour. It was spectacular. After that we set of to sail down to Osbourne Bay. During this time we used the charts to navigate ourselves, we did this by following the coloured buoys and working out the bearings to the bay. After we all enjoyed lunch, we then sailed back to Portsmouth. We anchored the boat and took the dingy down to ride around the beach. It was eventful to say the least. We then docked the boat in Gunwarf Quays and all worked together to clean the boat. After that we had showers and enjoyed the evening. We had a lovey diner that was kindly prepared by the mate on the boat and then we enjoyed the last of the sunlight.

Entry Three

Waking up in Cowes we knew that we had a long day of sailing ahead of us, therefore we all indulged in a large breakfast where we “ate like kings” to start off the day at around 8:00 am. The whole group then went ahead to go and shower where Deric and Patryk took their opportunity to get some snacks for the “voyage” ahead of us.

The wind was good, meaning we all had our work cut out with the sails, mainly using the Genoa sail where we had to tack (moving the nose of the boat through the wind) several times, involving a series of commands following a display of teamwork and coordination ensuring the sail went across the boat successfully (however Andrew was practically carrying us and doing the important bits). Anchored for lunch at Newtown creak which was calm and peaceful, two words which weren’t used in mass on the voyage, but for those couple of hours we achieved it.

Leaving Newtown creak Me (Rajdeep), Patryk, Robin and Deric were craving a jump in the cold, refreshing, sea water as we had been building this up for quite a while. And all the suspense was worth it, the scorching sun was sitting the shallow shore water giving contrast to the comfortably cooled water where we swam and played ball but I think what really mattered was that we actually felt like that we were on holiday in a tropic country far from home. That stood out in the whole trip because many of us hadn’t ventured from Birmingham much before this voyage so were flabbergasted with what the coastlines had to offer. After a nice walk across the beach we got back on the boat using the rift we saw the astonishing views of the needles, iconic for the famous BBC advert, sailing right next to the cliffs are moments and views are ones everlasting upon us all, oh yeah did I mention the weather was breath-taking, we were truly blessed to ensure our experience was good with the weather.

With a steady sail to Yarmouth, which was beautiful, we set up for food. Me and Andrew chopped way too much chicken that what was needed however we mutually agreed that there is never too much chicken. We all found out that Andrew makes a mean chicken curry, tasty was the common word that came out of the whole “crews” mouths. From there we wandered around town where we got some bits and bobs and where myself, Deric and Patryk went to the pier which was astonishing. Looking at the 360 degree horizons views beautiful views were plentiful. AND IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH! I saw my first sunset and wow was it good. Even Andrew took pictures (he’s seen hundreds of sunrises but even this was too special to miss up on a photo opportunity) words can’t describe how the overpowering orange and yellow from the sun with its tip just hitting the horizon contrasted with the pinky clouds and the baby blue above all of this contrast. It was a perfect end to a perfect day where we all sat down and talked as by now everyone were comfortable with one and other. Signing off

Blog by: Rajdeep Singh Thandi 05/07/2017

Entry Two

Today we woke up in Cowes with a beautiful weather with the sun shining. By 8:00am breakfast was ready with cereal and warm toast. After this we were given a 30 min break to go ashore to freshen up and shower before preparing the boat to be leaving Isle of Wight.

Whist sailing the sailors on the boat taught us a couple of different ways of tying knots such as clove hitch, round turn and two half hitches, sheet bends and bowlines knots which were very useful in securing fenders as well as sails. Doing this was a great experience as it was something different which we didn’t do in our normal daily lives.

After putting on the sails we were taking in the saloon where one of the tall ship’s crew taught us navigation. This was very interesting as it showed how sailors navigated and sailed in the seas in the past centuries when there was not much development of the modern technology we have today. This was then used to navigate the boat to Lymington by writing and planning the directions using a compass and divider.

After 3-4 hours of sailing we arrived at Lymington where we docked and had 2 hours to explore the town, before coming back to the boat for a nice warm meal prepared by the two sailors. Then we had 1 hour of break before relaxing in the saloon with friends before getting ready for bed.

Nansi Seedana

Entry One

Today was the first day of our voyage adventure which started off in a mini bus journey from Sandwell Academy in West Midland to Portsmouth The journey took approximately 4 hours which flew by due to the excitement of getting to the tall ship. Once we arrived, the tall ships area wasn’t hard to find and we managed to get there without any guidance needed. The sailors for this programme were ready to greet and welcomed us onto the ship as well as being helpful with the luggage.

After settling into our rooms and unpacking our bags, the sailors gave us a simple training tutorial on how to run the ship as well as going through the health and safety. This took around an hour as the sailors explained and went through the different parts of the ship and techniques of using ropes and starting the ship. We then were given a little break before leaving the dock which was very exciting.

Once the boat had started moving it felt weird at first but the views were amazing. We arrived at Cowes after an hour or so of sailing. Cowes was a very pretty town with little side shops around. We had time to go on shore and explore the town which was very fascinating. After a while we then came back to the boat to cook up some dinner which was chicken and pasta. We all helped out with the preparation and cleaning to increase efficiency.

I was very happy with the first day and settled in very well. Jim and Andrew were very helpful with anything that was needed and made sure that we were comfortable. The beds were surprisingly comfy and I managed to sleep very well to then wake up ready for a new day of sailing and exploring.